Come visit with me as I stitch and craft my way from one Christmas to the next - I like to have Christmas projects close by me all year. I have a particular fondness for Santas and Angels. If you have the time, leave a comment so I know you've visited.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

I've accidentally cut the top off this pic, but there's another one below showing the lovely Santas on top of the display case. This display case has my older angels (top shelf) and on the other shelves my older Santas and assorted vintage Christmas ornaments. Sitting at the dining room table you can see my lovely old straw-filled Santa, who is having his first Christmas in my house (though he must have seen around 6o Christmases in his lifetime). I have to admit that this corner of my house is one of my all-time favourite areas - I do love my vintage Christmas items, particularly the Santas.

This little display case houses some of my smaller vintage Christmas decorations, and is on the dining room wall near the display case shown above.

and here are some of my absolute favorites - my vintage Santas. They're standing on top of the corner display cupboard that houses (at this tme of the year only) my vintage Angels and smaller vintage Santas.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Above, you can see my little collection of Nativities. mostly vintage, and mostly rescued from garage sales. Below is a more detailed pic of my two favourites - the one on the left (behind) is an old Italian set, the one on the right is an African terracotta set I bought new over 20 years ago. My tiniest Nativity is on the botton left corner of the clock - I bought it home with me from Italy this year. It's only about 3cm wide. The Santa sleigh on the clock is a vintage piece.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

after a very wet 12 days in the van at lovely Port Stephens, just an hours drive from my home. It rained all day and night for the first 11 days, but I am so very pleased that the rain stopped yesterday afternoon, and we managed a dry pack up today. My laundry floor is currently covered knee deep in wet items waiting their turn in the washing machine.

So, to cheer myself up I'm putting in a few more pics of my Christmas house - it was so nice to open the door and see Christmas again.

We've moved up to the dining room now. The first pic is the top of my cedar chest, and it has my gourd Santas, a few nwsting Santas and some particular favourites of mine. I stitched the cross stitched Santa many years ago, from one of the Leisure Arts Christmas Cross stitch hardcover books.

and this pic shows the top of my buffet. It houses my Advent tree, and my very small collection of Jim Shore Santas. This picture was taken before December 1 - had it been taken after December 1 the appropriate number of stars would have turned into Santas. The small cross stitched Santa on the wall is teh Santa that took me the longest to stitch. I started him in 1992, and didn't finish him till 1997 - it has the fiddliest back-stitching round everything, and the face is full of fractional confetti stitches. Being fairly new to cross stitch when I started him, I stitched him on 18 count Rustico Aida - not the best choice of fabric for a design with so any fractionals!

Sorry if you've been having trouble making comments on my blog. I know some people have. I have changed the setting, hope that helps.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Moving along from the 50's tree, we see a collection of smll Santas in the white CD cabinet, and next to that is a desk with my Christmas trinket box collection on the two open lower shelves. On top of the desk is an assortment of Santas collected over the past 20 years. On the wall above the TV, the framed cross stitch is Santa Reunion (LA I think). Here's a close-up of the stereo cabinet, which is temporarily housing more Santas.

Friday, November 11, 2011

These pics are of my stairs leading down from the front door entry to the lounge room. In this first pic you can see my little trees, collected or made over the past 20 years. The two Santa faces on the wall are cardboard face masks that I bought at a craft show in 1996.

moving down a little, here's a clearer pic of the two Santa masks, and you can just see in far right the white trolley with my musical Santas.

and in this final pic you have an overview of the whole wall. To the right of the Santa mask is an advent tree - no gifts in the pockets yet, but they'll be there come December 1. Further right is this year's Christmas cross stitched project - Santa and his sleigh. On the white trolley is my small collection of musical Christmas ornaments. In front, you can see some of my reindeers.

I have quite a few Christmas trees of various materials and sizes, but this one is my absolute favourite. When I was a child (in the 1950s) my family had a very similar tree, and I recall disliking it intensely at that time, as I really liked the 'real' trees (branches cut from pine trees) we used to have in the house prior to the arrival of the artificial tree. I found this treasure in a country charity sale, and it has been part of my Christmas celebrations for the past 12 years. This tree is in my lounge room, and it's around this tree that I place my Christmas gifts. I decorate this tree with Christmas baubles (many of which are old and have been rescued from charity shops or garage sales, others given to me as gifts), and other treasures.

On the wall to the left of the tree is a display of some of my treasured vintage Santa brooches in a recycled set of frames.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Twelve tiny bead decorated trees, and two just slightly larger ones. These arer destined for my 'take home' gift basket for adult Christmas visitors (visiting children have their own basket of gifts to choose from).

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Miss Maddie on the lounge with one of her Christmas toys (she likes toys that ta;k or sing to her when she presses their tummies). On the wall above the lounge aretwo stitched Lavender & Lace designs (Gift of Peace and Christmas Joy if my memory is correct) and Donna Vermillion Giampa's Santa's Portrait.

and hewre's a close-up of Miss Maddie. I'm sure her eyes are as sore as they look, but she is having treatment for them, and it does seem to be helping.

This pic is of the part of the lounge room where I spend most of my time. My stitching chair is on the right. Santa is an old friend - he's been part of my Christmas for 18 years now. The cross stitch on the wall is Vermillion's 9 Santa Sampler. I stitched it over 2 on 18 count Aida in 1996, and it was absolutely my favourite project to stitch. Everytime I finished a Santa I felt as if I had finished a project.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Today I'm showing one wallof my lounge room. Here are my Santa candle-holders and candles, and my four Christmas candle-snuffers. They're sitting on one of the many trunks that store my Christmas things throughout the year (and currently house the items that decorate the house in the non-Christmas period). This is the 'white Santa' group.

and here is my collection of Santa bells. The Christmas tree tile at the back was brought home from Kunanurra in Western Australia in 2010.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

I decided to continue with the study (the least decorated of my living areas). The first pic is what I have to my left as I sit at the computer. The cross stitched Baltimore Album Quilt was a round robin project witht he Life's a Stitch group in 2004, and it's one of my favourite non-Santa pieces. The other cross stitched pieces in this photo were stitched for me by my niece Aislinn, and her sister Ciara painted the framed Santa many years ago. In the Santa mug are my Santa pens and pencils, collected over the past 20 years.This next pictture shows what is behind me and to the right as I sit here. You can just see Miss Maddie stretched out on her cushion on the left, and on the ottoman next to her are the children's Christmas books. Next to that are the children's play things, on top of a black metal trunk. You can just see (far right) some of my recycled Santa cards hanging on the door that leads into the lounge room.

And in this pic is the Children's corner, where I store the soft Santas and other larger things that visiting children can play with.

Next time we'll venture into the lounge room - where I have much more interesting Christmas things about me.

Size 625 stitches wide x 416 stitches high (66 A4 chart pages, large format). Commenced 1/1/2016. I am stitching on 22 count hardanger, with 2 strands of floss over 1, tent stitch, and I am stitching it sideways, as it was too wide for my frame. My aim is to have it framed and on my wall for Christmas 2020. I have now finished 19 of the 66 pages, and have now stitched 80,546 stitches of the total 260,000 - so it's about 31% completed.

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My Favourite Stitched Santa

This is the largest (and longest) of my many stitching projects over the past 30 years or so. It is HAED JG92105, Jolly Old Fellow (artwork by Dona Gelsinger, charted by Michele Sayetta), which I commenced January 2009, and finished on June 25, 2012. JOF is stitched over 1 on 22 count white hardanger. The charted size is 400 x 509 stitches, but I added 2 stitches to the width, making it 402 wide.